Spoiler-ridden Firewatch ending – PS4

I feel a little mixed to be honest, I’ve just finished Firewatch on PS4 after just a couple of hours of play. It’s a very short game, absolutely stunning but if I’m honest, it feels as if the last portion was a little rushed.

So the mystery turned out to be linked to a tragic accident, and whilst this makes it quite gritty, my conspiratorial mind was a little disappointed that there weren’t darker arts at play. So I still don’t fully get why Ned cares about Henry, I guess there is an element of self preservation, and not wanting to be found, but seriously why all the surveillance? This built up far more hope in me than transpired.

I found the discovery of the body fairly interesting, and enjoyed looking through the camp site as well, but ultimately the ending just felt like a little bit of an easy way out.

Okay so Ned was the bad guy and the stalker, that was that. Now we finally get to see Delilah! What happens then? Oh she isn’t here, but there’s a helicopter! How cool would it be if you get on the helicopter and you have a couple of scenes back at home, maybe with your wife, or at least some shots in a different location? Oh, that’s it. Credits.

Like many people, in general I become a little unfulfilled at the end of something I have previously enjoyed. It happened with The Sopranos, Lost (to an extent) and I had the same feeling with this game. That feeling is what F. Scott Fitzgerald used to base so many of his works on (useless fact), the journey is more rewarding than the end result.

Firewatch was such a cool concept, and such an aesthetically impressive experience, I’m just a little disappointed with how quickly it ended, and how it ended. I was also disappointed that there wasn’t more to do in terms of finding things during the story, and the glitchy framerates can get a little frustrating. Still, for £15 I’m glad that I played it.

6.9/10

What are your thoughts? Am I being overly harsh? I’d love to hear what you thought of the game.